The present invention relates to a database access system, and more specifically to a system which allows for the remote download, organization and presentation of information for a particular entity.
Many companies which provide a large variety of services and products to a large customer base maintain extensive records about their customers in a centralized database. As an example, a telecommunications company which provides telephony services may maintain many different types of information about their customers. These types of information may include ordering and billing information for services provided, current contracts with customers, types of services a customer may use, as well as trouble tickets or service calls made to a particular customer.
As mentioned above, this information may be stored in a centralized database. The different types of information may be located in different tables within the database with a reference in the entry to the particular customer. In this scenario, specific information for a particular customer may be retrieved by individually accessing each table and manually compiling the information.
One party which may employ the information stored in the centralized database for a variety of purposes are the account representatives for the company. Account representatives generally spend their time in the field selling products and services rather than working out of an office. These representatives make frequent visits to their customers and may try to either sell additional products or services, or handle any customer needs or complaints which may exist. In order to better service their customers, the account representatives may require many different types of information about their customers. In many cases, these account representatives are issued laptop computers to facilitate mobile work, however, the data about their customers and about the services provided by the company resides in the company""s corporate data war use. Accessing this data requires a network connection, and retrieving the relevant data requires some technical skill which not all account representatives may possess. Further, once this data is retrieved, further work must be performed by the representative to organize it in a fashion which is presentable to a customer.
The inventors have recognized that it would be advantageous to provide a system for account representatives and other parties which provides access to the most updated information in a centralized database, and presents it in an organized, custom-made format. Further, it would be desirable for this type of custom information to be automatically generated on a periodic basis and made available such that it may be downloaded and viewed on a computing device which is remotely located from the database in which the customer information is stored.
According to the invention described herein, a data access system is disclosed which includes a centralized location to which a remotely located computing device may connect. The centralized location may provide access to a first database which contains information stored according to a known organizational structure. In particular, the database may include multiple tables which are organized in a topical manner. The system may also provide access to a second application-specific database which includes account information with regard to the entities for which information is stored in the first database. The information in the second database may relate to locations for stored information, as well as parties which may have access to the information.
Also included in the system may be a portfolio generator which is configured to perform searches of the databases to locate particular types of information and then assemble this retrieved information into a predetermined format. The portfolio generator may employ information stored in the second database as well as a rules repository in order to locate and organize information which is located and retrieved from the first database. An external interface may also be provided such that the connection may be established to a remotely located computing device such that information generated by the portfolio generator may be accessed and downloaded.
The system described herein may be implemented on a computing device such as a network server. The server configuration would provide for connections to be established either over a data network such as the Internet, or via the telephone lines through a public switch telephone network (PSTN). A party with a laptop computer may, through use of a modem, establish a connection with an Internet Service Provider which in turn provides for a connection to be established to the network server. Communications may be facilitated through use of a web browser. Conversely, the system user may use the modem in the personal computer to directly dial up the network server and transmit and receive data signals over that network.
As was described above, the network server either has resident upon it, or is in connection with, a first and second database. In one aspect of the invention, the first database may contain a plurality of types of information with regards to the operation of a business. The database is organized such that, for example, one segment of the database may contain billing and identification information while another section may contain information with regards to the provision of services, (i.e., trouble tickets, complaints, service visits, etc.).
The second database may contain specific information with regards to the generation of portfolio information for a particular customer or client. In particular, this information may include accounts which are to be profiled, users which have access to a particular account, and account modules to which a particular user may have access. Further, this database may include information with regards to the types of information to be retrieved from the database for a particular account.
Further, with regards to the present system, a rules repository may be provided which may be used to identify particular characteristics of the data which has been included in a portfolio for a particular account. For example, the rules may designate that a search be performed to determine if a particular customer is receiving a particular type of service, or whether any other additional services or products may be provided.
The portfolio generator may be configured such that searches are periodically performed on the first database to locate and retrieve information for a particular customer. Once this information is retrieved it is organized in a file according to a predetermined format. One format which may be used is presenting the information as part of a hyperbolic tree. In an example where the business is a telecommunications business which provides telephone service, the data may be organized according to geographic area. For example, in the hyperbolic tree, nodes may be established for each state, and then connecting nodes provided for each city. Connections may be further established to individual addresses in those cities which receive telecommunications services from the service provider. As each level in the hyperbolic tree is selected, associated textual information may also be displayed.
The system described herein may further include a network interface which provides for accessing and downloading portfolios. The connection may be established with a remote computing device such as a laptop computer. A web browser may be installed upon the computer which provides for the viewing, manipulation, and presentation of customer information included in a particular portfolio. Certain security measures may be instituted with the interface to limit access to the portfolios.
In operation, the portfolio generator is configured to periodically identify accounts for which portfolios are to be generated. A listing of these accounts may be provided in the second database. Depending on the type of business for which the data is being stored, this may be done as frequently or infrequently as desired. In order to generate a portfolio for a particular customer, a search is performed of the first database which, as described above, includes a plurality of different data tables which contain information with regards to a particular entity. Each time a periodic search is performed, a number of tables in the first database are searched to locate and retrieve specific information about the entity for which the portfolio is being generated. Once this information is gathered, additional processes may be performed upon the information to provide an output file formatted in a desired fashion. These processes may include such things as performing calculations on numbers included in the data or formatting the data in a manner which may provide for its visual presentation.
Once the portfolio is generated, it is stored on a file server which is accessible by parties establishing a remote connection. In order to download a portfolio, a system user may establish a connection over a data network, such as the Internet, with the local server upon which the portfolio is located. When a connection is established with the server, access information may be retrieved. This information is employed to determine which parties have authorized access to retrieve particular portfolios. The system may require that a party who has established a remote connection with the local server enter particular identifying information for gaining access, such as a user name, or a password.
Once the party trying to gain access provides the necessary information, the portfolio may be accessed and downloaded over the data network. At this point, using a local web browser, the party may view the portfolio in the format which it was created.
Also during a connection, a user may provide further programming information for the creation of portfolios. As was described above, in order to create a portfolio, a search is performed of a central database to locate information in a number of tables for a particular customer. While a user is logged on to the server, the instructions for the search may be updated such that additional search items are either added or removed. Further, a user may provide additional rules which are employed to search the portfolios and identify additional opportunities.